Preschool
God is our refuge and strength. Psalm 46:1
Righteousness by Faith
Memory Verses
Primary
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
Junior
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Psalm 46:1-2
Background Scripture: Romans 4
Lesson Scripture: Romans 4:1–8, 13–16, 23–25
Introduction
Two things are notable in the life of Abraham. He simply believed what God told him, and he was uncompromising in his obedience to God. Human reasoning, which is the wisdom of man, hinders us from simply believing and obeying; the flesh that should be dead may be alive enough to influence our choices. If we are religious but not dedicated to God, we can by human effort attempt to fabricate a substitute for God’s righteousness. May we let the light of God shine into our hearts to reveal any dependence on works and human reasoning that will complicate our Christian lives. We must let Him burn the wood, hay, and stubble out of our lives (1 Cor. 3:12–15).
Key Verse
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent (John 6:29).
Lesson Scripture
Romans 4:1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Studying the Lesson
Abraham’s family descended from Shem, the son of Noah. His father, Terah, the eighth in descent from Shem, was the father of three sons: Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Genesis 11:31 says, “Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.” Apparently the descendants of Shem still believed in God at this time. We wonder what motivated Terah to start out for Canaan. And what caused him to stop in Haran? It was at this juncture that the call from God came to Abram: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee” (Gen. 12:1). The land that God promised to give to Abram was the land of Canaan which, we understand, was originally given to Canaan, the son of Ham, a brother of Shem. What was it in Abram that caused him to hear and believe the voice of God? How much was he influenced by Terah, his father? Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and the substance and souls that they had acquired and traveled to the plain of Moreh in Canaan (Gen. 12:4–6). Later, both Isaac and Jacob acquired wives from the relatives that Abraham left behind.
Abraham made numerous sacrifices in obedience to God. Those works show us that he believed what God had spoken to him. However, the righteousness that God attributed to him was because he believed God and not because of his works; he was counted righteous before the works were done. Abraham’s obedience was a result of God’s grace in him, as He said, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Gen. 15:1).
It is sublimely encouraging to ponder Abraham’s simple faith in God. He believed the voice of God against all odds. According to human reasoning, God’s promises and commands seemed unreasonable. Examples of this were the act of circumcision in his old age, the promise that when he and his wife were about one hundred years old, they would have a son, and when this promised son was a young man, God’s command to sacrifice him.
Practical Truths for Today
We see Abraham as a person chosen by God and one who was given special recognition. In the gospel age we all have the opportunity given to Abraham. Jesus said, “And I, if I be lifted up . . . will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). We can also claim God’s promise to Abraham when He promised to take care of him.
Paul wrote of his people, the Israelites, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:3). We can also try to establish our own righteousness. There is a tendency for Christian life to become a cultural way of life in which we discern things by our intellect instead of being attuned to the voice of God. While it may not be difficult to comply with the outward standard of our Christian society, we may have a feeling in our heart that we lack grace in our lives. When we cannot simply entrust matters to God, we tend to worry. Are we willing to deny our proud, independent nature and trust Him for everything, or does our faith falter like Sarah’s did when she gave Hagar to Abraham for a wife? We tend to reason out our own plans. Let us listen closely to God to discern if that is the case.
Most religions require that their followers conform to its tenets. Some try to be righteous, hoping that in the end the good will outweigh the bad. In some religious settings, young people are expected to live a carnal life for a time. Later, those who are sincere will settle down and follow the standard of their church order.
The Christian religion is unique in teaching that one surrenders everything to God and looks to Jesus in faith. “Faith is the avenue whereby one takes to himself the merits of Jesus’ atonement on Calvary.” 1 We are saved by our faith in Jesus’s blood. It is imperative when we prove membership applicants that we make certain their faith is based on the solid Rock, Jesus Christ; it cannot be on what they have done to better their lives or to comply with some catechism. A newly saved person is as righteous before God as he will ever be. He will want to be baptized and walk in obedience, leaving his life of sin. If later he is disobedient to God and allows sin to enter his heart again, he has left his first love to God and must return and do the first works lest he be lost.
“We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Humility, a fruit of a simple faith in God, always has this quality: it is not what I have done but what God has done for me. When we have this spirit, our salvation is a finished work; we serve Him with a thankful heart, not wanting to grieve Him and lose the pearl of great price. We live a holy life because of our desire to please our Father, not to gain “points” with Him. On the other hand, when our relationship with God is performance based, our courage will fluctuate according to how successful we are in maintaining our standard.
Some people, like Paul, grew up in an environment that engendered the fear of God in them at a young age. As a result, from their childhood they strove to be righteous, but their own righteousness could not save them. Others who did not have that background came under conviction and repented of a life of sin. While the backgrounds of people who become Christians can be quite different, all people must enter the kingdom through the same door. They must repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ who died for their sin.
Questions
- How much did Abram have to do with God calling him out?
- Is true faith an effort on our part to believe, or is it that we come to the place wherea we have nothing else to depend on?
- How do we reconcile Romans 4:2–3 with James 2:21–24?
- 1 Bible Doctrine and Practice, p. 142
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).